1. Field
The subject invention is in the field of plumbing tools and repair apparatus. More specifically it is in the field of apparatus used in repairing valves, particularly a class of valves which have bonnets threaded onto the valve body around the valve stem. Valves known as stop valves are good examples of such valves and for purposes of this disclosure the term stop valve represents all valves having bonnets. Such valves are installed and used to shut off the water supply to a faucet to allow repair or replacement of the faucet.
2. Prior Art
There is no commercially available prior art to the subject invention known to the inventor of the subject invention. When it is necessary to repair a stop valve, conventional practice is to shut off water to the valve by shutting off the water supply to a complete building or segment of a building. Often the zone valves for such a shut-off are hard to find and such a shut off is a significant inconvenience to the occupants of the buildings and adds to the cost of the repairs. Accordingly, the prime objective of the subject invention is to provide apparatus which enables repairing a stop valve without shutting off the water supply to the valve. Other objectives are that the apparatus be economical to manufacture and easy to use.